"Do two inspectors inspecting the same school make consistent decisions?"

Members will be aware of international debates about the ‘reliability’ of inspection with some assertions made by various groups which are not based on secure evidence. One of the common comments made is that ‘it depends on which inspector you get.’ In response to this, OFSTED in England decided to conduct some experimental research by running two inspections of the same schools but with different inspectors. The report on this has just been published, and shows a high degree of consistency in the inspectors’ judgements. In SICI we feel this research is likely to be of value to you should similar issues arise in your own countries.